BubbleStream

Mary Findley

A Dodge, a Twist, and a Tobacconist

Synopsis

Oh, you're a Steampunk fan. You just don't know it yet. The Alexander Legacy company includes a diverse collection of classic characters on the track of a ruthless enslaver of souls. Prowl the foggy London streets. Encounter a nightmare from an Indian jungle. Travel the Thames in Sluefoot Sue's giant Catfish. Soar on a stealth glider with a Bohemian prince. When Oliver Twist unwraps an Algerian mummy at Charley Bates' funeral, will he discover his true enemy? Or is it all just another "Dodge"?
"I'm sorry, but my time is very short just now. I have tried for months to locate you, and have only just today succeeded. The other members of the group I propose to create are en route or are already here. Everyone else has been made aware of my plan. I truly wish to explain things more clearly to you, and then if you agree, to invite you to attend our first meeting as a formal association tomorrow. Can I count on you to come, please, and will you hear my plan?" the woman pleaded. "This is the most important thing I've ever done, and I pray God I have chosen the right people. I also pray that the right people will choose to pledge their help."

Author Biography

Sophronia Belle Lyon grew up in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, reading HG Welles, Jules Verne and other classics. She dressed up and acted out scenes with friends much like Louisa May Alcott's beloved "Little Women," and got to be a cauldron spirit in Macbeth in fourth grade. She traveled to Italy by way of Iceland and Luxembourg. She's taken apart her share of clocks to study the gearworks and feels well-prepared to enter the Steampunk genre. Hundreds of cat friends informed her about Bagheera's attitudes and manners. Oliver Twist's oblivious, eccentric habits came from the Science-absorbed men in her life, and her love for weapons translated into the well-armed members of the Alexander Legacy Company. She travels widely, shoots when she can and collects swords and knives.

Author Insight

The Airship Battle

Florizel of Bohemia must stop the stealth glider from shooting down Oliver Twist's airship. He also needs to keep the pilot from reporting the location of the innocent family members of the Alexander Legacy Company. The only way to do that seems to be to leap off the roof of the country estate and wrestle the glider to the ground.

Book Excerpt

A Dodge, a Twist, and a Tobacconist

"He's going to ram Twist's
ship," Kera breathed. "They'll both crash into the house and Mrs.
Rose just might have her bomb going off."

I ran along the edge of the roof as
if I were looking for a shot. But I already knew my pistol was empty, useless,
and the guard was trying to get around another gable to get a clear shot while
staying behind cover. I had come to a conclusion a moment earlier that I dared
not say out loud lest I be grabbed and thrown down on the roof by both women,
but I knew what I had to do.

Just as the spy craft hove around
the corner of the house, only a few feet away from the airship, I launched
myself off the roof. The smaller ship disappeared and my heart leaped in panic
at the thought of being sliced into quarters by the tail rotor. But my
fingertips caught hold of a solid object. I found the fuselage of the spy ship
and wrapped my legs around it. The thing slewed and spun and began to fall
tail-first toward the green lawn.